Letters to the editor November 15 2017

THING OF BEAUTY: Windang Island by Caroline Armitage. Send us your photos to letters@illawarramercury.com.au or post to our Facebook page.

GET PRIORITIES RIGHT

The NSW Government is proposing to spend at least $700million and up to $1.6 billion on upgrading two sports stadiums in Sydney, yet it cannot find sufficient money to bring Shellharbour hospital up to scratch, or the $3 million a year it costs for the free Gong shuttle?

No, Gareth Ward, it isn't the inability of the Government to fund important local services that is the issue here, as they clearly have adequate resources.

It is the skewed priorities of a Government, which will not adequately fund public health, or public transport, but can find vast sums for sporting facilities.

Money which could easily see Shellharbour and other hospitals modernised, pay for 100 years of Gong shuttle, or improve rail facilities for the South Coast if it were allocated differently.

Bill and Joan Zealey, Balgownie

FED UP TO BACK TEETH

I don't know how everyone else feels but I am fed up to the back teeth about who was born here who was born there, where was the ancestors born.

Blimey there is more important things to get sorted.

For example, pull these petrol owners into gear.

And also those that put the price of beer up.

Warren Fleming, Balgownie

TIME FOR NEW LEADER

Now than ever Australia needs Tony Abbott or one of the ‘young turks’, such as Angus Taylor, Andrew Hastie et al to challenge the PM, not Julie Bishop.

If Shorten has the savvies he should drive to the GG’s residence in Yarralumba and inform the GG parliament is unworkable.

PUTTING A DAMPER ON IT

Regarding Cara Dunne‘s letter (Illawarra Mercury, November 6, 2017) about why can,t rain water be used in the bush fire season, I'd like to point out that Helensburgh RFS and the Illawarra heard you about five years ago.

They placed 30,000-litre rainwater tanks at their station for fire fighting.

So, they are doing just as you suggested.

Go take a look, the tanks filled in just one weekend of rain.

Barry McNeil, Heathcote

LUCK OF THE DRAW

I looked up the draw for the 2018 NRL season.

The 16 teams will be playing 25 rounds - 16 teams should be playing 30 rounds (note they call them rounds not weeks) so I thought I would see how the NRL worked this out.

I picked two teams, Dragons and Broncos.

The Dragons play: Broncos, Titans, Raiders, Panthers, Sea Eagles and Cowboys once, the rest they play twice with a bye in round 13.

The Broncos play: Dragons, Tigers, Knights, Eels, Raiders, and Panthers once with a bye in round 13.

Why do they have two byes rounds, 13 and 17.

This is not a fair competition and one wonders if the Storm would have won this year if all teams had played each other twice, as they should have done.

This is one of the reasons the NRL are losing out to the AFL and Football.

Imagine how the players feel when they run onto a stadium that's only half full.